A Call To Arms
by OlliD
Summary: Human AU. The year is 2016 and the world has been taken over by a corrupt totalitarian government. Alfred Jones and his brother Matthew have been oblivious to the new government's cruel actions since birth... Rating may go up to M for later chapters. Full Summary Inside
1. Prologue: Dark Days

Summary: AU. The year is 2016 and the world has been taken over by a corrupt totalitarian government. . Alfred Jones and his brother Matthew have been oblivious to the new government's cruel actions since their birth until one day they follow their classmate Kiku to the outskirts of the city where they are dragged into the underground world of the _Vox Populi_ or _"Voice of the People"_. Now they're on the run as they work with some old and new friends during the adventure of a lifetime to rid the world of an evil and corrupt government while risking life and limb to liberate the people. Pairings include AmeriPan, PruCan, GerIta, FrUk, AusHun, Spamano, One sided GiriPan, and Pol/Liet along with other minor pairings.

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><p><strong><em><span>Prologue: Dark Days<span>_**

"Maybe if you weren't so busy kissing General Winter's ass you'd realize that your own family needs you, you narcissistic prick!" A blond teenage boy said with as much venom as he could muster.

"You failure, you're no son of mine! All this talk of art and creativity is nonsense! And how dare you even say something like that to your own father! Have you lost your bloody mind?" A tall man yelled before grabbing the blond thirteen year old in front of him and slapping him hard enough to cause tears to well up in his eyes "Maybe if you didn't associate with that troublemaking, lowlife, commoner trash and respected our government's idea for the future I wouldn't be the laughing stock of the Council!"

"Maybe if people were more like him and not afraid of you pompous assholes life would better for all of us!" The boy spat when he managed to get out of his grasp.

The eight year old Kirkland-Jones twins sat silently on the top stair of the spiral staircase as the sounds of an ongoing argument could be heard downstairs. It wasn't uncommon for them to take place since their father and older brothers didn't exactly see eye to eye on many things specifically politics. The three oldest brothers left four years ago but Alfred could still remember seeing Ian's fiery red hair as he and the others left into the dark, winter night. No matter how much pleading Matthew or Alfred had done to get his brothers to stay, they left, leaving behind a promise the promise that they would meet again someday. So far his promise hadn't been fulfilled but Alfred never gave up hope that maybe just maybe they'd one day come back for them but the sound of a soft whimper brought him back to reality.

"Hey Al, you don't think Arthur's gonna leave like they did?" Matthew whispered to him as gripped his stuffed polar bear Kumajiro closely.

The boy stared at his twin in disbelief "What? No! Artie would never leave us like that he said that remember, Mattie!" He couldn't believe that Matthew would even think such a thing "Why would you even say anything like that?"

"I dunno I'm just scared since he and Dad have been arguing a lot more lately." The quieter boy replied clutching the stuffed bear even closer.

"Trust me even though he and Dad don't get along he wouldn't just leave without taking us with him."

"I hope you're right Al." Matthew mumbled to himself. The sound of angry footsteps nearing the staircase caused them to rush in to their bedroom and pretend they were asleep.

"Where do you think you're going, boy?" Their father's voice rang out in the hallway as Arthur stomped to his room and slammed his door "As far away from you as fucking possible, asshole!" It was the last thing either boy had heard before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

Later on in the night Alfred stirred from his sleep at the sound of footsteps. He looked into the hallway only to see that it was their older brother, dressed in a grey winter coat and black pants with snow boots and a bag of what he had presumed to be clothes.

"You're leaving aren't you?" Alfred asked as he stepped into the living room.

Arthur sighed before replying in a firm voice "Yes I am." He turned to look at his younger brother, whose eyes began to well up with tears. He kneeled down to wipe away the tears that began to stream down his face "Come now Alfred, I need you to be strong for me and Mattie. With me gone he'll need someone to lean on and that person has to be you. I promise I'll come back for you and Matthew but for now I just need to gather my thoughts."

The boy flinched away from his touch with so many emotions flickering in his violet eyes the most notable being hurt and anguish "You liar! That's what they said and it's been four years already you aren't coming back and you know!" He snapped at him before Arthur pulled him into one last brotherly embrace.

"I'm so sorry, I know I let you down but Alfred I can't stay here anymore. Not here… Not with them." He said when tears began to form in his eyes as well "I will be back and I'll take you and Mattie with me but for now I need you two to get bigger and stronger." Arthur let go and walked towards the door sparing one last look at his younger brother "Remember I will always be with you no matter what and no matter what anyone says embrace your uniqueness and don't follow the crowd. No matter what tomorrow brings I will always be with you." With that the door closed as Arthur left out into the snowy, winter night.

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><p>Arthur walked swiftly towards the run down tavern where he knew Francis was waiting for him to meet up with him. The street was filled with abandoned and boarded up homes with no signs of people anywhere. The only sound that could be was the sound of snow crunching under his feet. Upon arriving at the tavern he noticed Francis talking to two other people, whose appearances were hard figure out from a distance. When he got closer he realized that it was Gilbert, the self proclaimed awesome Prussian and Antonio, a very cheerful boy who always had a smile on his face.<p>

Antonio was the first to notice his presence while he walked down the street "Hey Arthur! Good to see you decided to make it, mi amigo!" The cheerful teen's voice rang out from through the deserted street. Arthur mentally face palmed hoping that there weren't any Sensor Officers out on a late night patrol.

"Well, well, well if it isn't the pretty boy himself." Gilbert greeted as he ruffled the shorter blond boy's hair "Good to see you finally decided to piss your old man off and come with us, looks like there is some rebel in you."

"It's good to see you guys too." Arthur responded as removed his hood.

Francis step forward and spoke, motioning the others to head inside the old tavern "Bonjour mon ami, come on inside we have much to discuss."

After a swift kick to the boarded back door the group entered the empty building and place their bags on the floor. Antonio managed to find the light switch which helped with the lighting problem. They took a seat at one of booths mindful of the limited time they had to discuss their plans.

"So did anyone notice you when left?" Antonio asked.

The teen shifted nervously in his seat "Err- about that…" He said earning looks of confusion from the other teens at the table.

"What do you mean when you say "about that"? Did you get caught while you were leaving or what?" Gilbert questioned, his usual lighthearted facial expression being replaced by an annoyed look.

"Nobody saw me I manage to leave undetected. Besides it'll be like I never even born knowing Father and the twins' mother." Arthur cringed at the thought of what his younger brothers would have now have to deal with.

"Good." Francis said "And since we're orphans with the exception of you and Gilbert no one will definitely look for us. We will just be another mystery disappearance for the pigs." The other three nodded in agreement at his statement.

"Well now that we've established that we can't go back from here, we should go meet up with Roderich and Elizabeta. When I spoke with them earlier they said Romulus and Gramps were getting our room set up." Gilbert spoke as he stood up and grabbed his bag "They are supposed to be meeting us here…" At that moment the door swung open revealing Romulus and Addler. Romulus was man of average height with tan skin similar to Antonio's and he had two curls, one at the top of his head and one at the bottom. Addler was about the same height as Romulus and had long blond hair with menacing green eyes.

"Gramps you finally showed up!" Gilbert said as he ran over to his grandfather who said nothing but instead responded with affectionate ruffle of the albino boy's hair. Arthur stared in awe at the two men who made the dream of freedom possible once again and gave rebirth to the idea of creativity and individualism.

Romulus noticed the boy and began to walk over towards him "No need to be afraid, young one. Are you one of the new recruits?" All Arthur could manage was a single nod of his head. Realizing this Francis decided to take matters into his own hands to save his friend from further embarrassment.

"Uh what he means, sir, is yes he is." Francis said making the other blond snap out of his trance.

"Well in that case we should get a move on before someone sees the light and calls the Thought Police." And with that Arthur and Francis grabbed their bags and followed Romulus out the door and into the large humvee that waited outside.

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><p><em><strong>Somewhere in a Alley<strong>_

"Hey Toris, like, look at what I totally found on my way back here." An eight year old long haired boy held out a loaf of bread for himself and his brown haired best friend. They made up a part of the local orphans that inhabited the city "Like here's your piece, Liet." He broke off a piece and handed it to the other boy before settling against the dirty wall of the alley and eating his piece.

"Thanks Feliks but how'd you manage to get this?" Toris asked the blond as he took a bite.

"Oh yeah I like totally got it while one of the merchant's weren't looking." Feliks said nonchalantly causing the older boy to choke on his piece until he managed to finally swallow the food.

"You what don't you realize that you can be killed if they recognize us!" He exclaimed his voice full of concern and worry for his best friend "At least tell me you had your hood on."

"Nope."

"Oh no this is bad. Feliks what were you thinking about?" Toris shouted at him.

"I was thinking about feeding my ungrateful friend!" He snapped back at him "But since you've totally forgotten that we're orphans with nobody but ourselves and only ourselves, I guess I can totally fend for myself and not some loser crybaby." The boy managed to stop himself from saying anything else realizing that his words had greatly hurt his friend. He walked towards the opening of the alley leaving behind a shaking Toris.

"Fine I can take care of myself without the help of a lazy, selfish jerk like you who only cares about himself!" He yelled back with equally as much anger making the boy stop in his tracks before continuing on without stopping to look back at his old friend "What did I do?" He thought himself as he began to sob silently "Now I really am alone." That night was first night since the orphanage that Toris cried himself to sleep without his faithful partner in crime by his side.

The next morning was even worse than the night before with a fresh blanket of snow covering the ground and the fact that he woke up without feeling the familiar warmth of Feliks next to him. When he finally made his way out of the alley to Central Square Marketplace hoping to find Feliks and apologize for what he had said. As he made his way through the crowded marketplace he saw some kind of commotion and a few indistinct voices yelling something. Thinking it would be best to not stick around and find out what was going on he walked past the crowd until he noticed a small opening and saw a child around his age continually getting pummeled by the Thought Police. Some people were cheering them on and others just stood there, absolutely mortified at the harsh brutality being dished out to the poor boy.

"That ought to teach you not to steal anything again." One of the officers said landing one last blow to the boy's stomach making him cough up some blood. His blond hair obscured his face from view but judging from how they had hit him the poor kids face probably got even more injured than any other body part.

"That's enough, men. You can send him to the palace dungeon where General Winter will decide what'll happen to him." A man with platinum blond hair said as the crowd parted for him. He was followed by two boys that were about his age that looked terrified and afraid.

"As you wish, Captain Kirkland." The officer responded humbly in stark contrast to his earlier personality. As the men handcuffed the boy, he looked around one last time hoping to find one person who would try and save him. Unfortunately no one spoke and his face fell once again. The boy gave Toris a glance and his whole facial expression lightened up. Toris immediately recognized him as Feliks. Knowing he would have to save his old friend and make up for what he'd said the night before he did the bravest thing he'd ever done before.

"Wait! You have the wrong person! It was me, I stole the food. I'm the one who did it." He called out just as they loaded Feliks into the police truck. He walked up to the officer with his arms out and waiting ready to go without a fight.

The officer unlocked Feliks's handcuffs, the people began to mumble amongst themselves about the brave little street rat who had willingly sacrificed himself for the other boy. "Well don't just stand there boy unless you want to go to prison. Get out of here before we take the both of you." Captain Kirkland said as he made his way to the limousine. Feliks gave Toris a hug as tears formed in his eyes not knowing the kind of fate that was awaiting his friend. After they restrained him Toris was thrown in to the back of the truck and while it was pulling off he caught one last glance at Feliks as the crowd dispersed accepting the fate that was waiting for him at the palace.

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><p>AN: -Holds up hands in defense- Oh my god please don't kill me about the 4 month long hiatus! But I had bad writer's block and I wanted to revise the intro/prologue to the story while I work on chapter 4. Oh yeah and I really wanted give a small intro for a few of the characters with Grandpa Rome and Germania making their appearance. Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for all the alerts and favorites for the story. Oh yeah and I kinda forgot the disclaimer for the last chapter so here it is: I don't Hetalia, it belongs Hidekaz Himaruya. If I did then France and England would definitely be all over each other by now.


	2. Risk somethin', take back what's yours

Chapter 1: Risk somethin', Take back what's yours

_**Nine Years Later**_

"A-Alfred wait up! You know what will happen if they catch we're late for school!" The blond haired timid boy called after his younger brother

"Don't worry Mattie we won't be late I promise!" Alfred called to his brother as they hopped over fences on Alfred's so called "shortcut to school" which turned out to take twice as long as the normal route.

"You said that last time and we still ended up getting detention not to mention what mom and dad did to us afterwards"

"Ha! You worry too much big bro sometimes you just need to go with the flow and loosen up a little." Alfred laughed as he looked back at the path and seeing the school in the approaching clearing.

"That's easy for you to say because you aren't given the whole "responsibility speech" every time one of your plans go weary." Matthew sighed as they ran into the school building earning looks from their superiors and guards.

The bell rang as he and Alfred ran to their respective classrooms. Once in there the student were reciting The Oath and Pledge to the Brotherhood seeing this as an easy way to sneak into class without being noticed Alfred snuck in through the back of the classroom. After the reciting was over Alfred took the only available seat behind the stoic Japanese student Kiku Honda.

"Hello Mr. Jones so nice of you to finally join us looks like you will be joining Mr. Honda and your elder brother in detention" The teacher Mr. Fallowbed said as he took attendance.

"Dammit why me?" Alfred cursed silently to himself.

-Approximately 10 minutes after detention was over-

"Ow my arm is killing me!" Alfred groaned as he, Mattie and Kiku exited the steel school building and went their separate ways. "Who ever invented the idea of forty lashes was an idiot!"

"Alfred you can't say you might wake the Thought Police or worse the Sensor Officials."

"Whatever maybe it's time somebody spoke up Mattie you never know" Alfred said as he put his hands behind his head and looked behind at his brother who'd stopped dead in his tracks as they neared the beginning of the 8th district the poorest part of the city which made up roughly ¼ of the city was infested with what was called the so called scum of the city.

"Alfred we can't go in there you don't know what could be in there besides dad'll kill us if we aren't home by dark and what if we get caught we'll be-!"

"Mattie please do me a favor and shut up for once just follow my lead." Alfred interrupted him as he entered the "forbidden district" Matthew quickly followed his lead afraid of what might happen if the local authorities caught up to them.

"Why is it so dirty here all I can see is trash and the buildings are half destroyed or either missing some bricks?" Matthew looked around as the earned glares from a group of men clad in rags and tattered clothing.

"I dunno this is my first time being here too remember. Hey! Isn't that the Honda kid from school?" Alfred pointed to the black haired kid talking to one of the young boys dressed in rags. He was flanked by a man with blond hair tied back in a ponytail and another guy with white hair and red eyes. Both of them were wearing dark cloaks and kept looking around as if they didn't want to be seen. Alfred staying true to his personality decided to approach them

"Here you go little boy, I hope you enjoy it" Kiku said as gave the little boy the loaf of bread that they had stolen earlier in the day. Around here they were known as the vigilantes who stole from those rich fat bastards and gave back to the poor. They'd been running for about an hour before the Thought Police decided to give up and go back to harassing some poor civilian. They were supposed to be back at base before sunset but with the way things were going that wasn't very likely.

"C'mon Kiku let's hurry this up a little bit you know how he gets whenever we're late." Gilbert said as he and Francis kept lookouts encase the pigs showed up again."

"Oui I agree we really should be going before those mannequins find us again-" Before he could say anything else Francis was interrupted by a notorious loudmouth whom we all know and love.

"HEY! YOU! AREN'T YOU THAT HONDA KID FROM SCHOOL? REMEMBER IT'S ME ALFRED!" Alfred began to ramble until he noticed them running out the marketplace and a crowd of people staring at him and Matthew trying to see what all the commotion was about. HEY WHERE ARE YOU GUYS GOING WAIT UP WE'VE GOT SOMETHN' THAT BELONGS TO YOU." And with that they were off pushing through the crowd in hopes of trying to catch up with them

"Oi Honda did you know those guys?" Gilbert asked as they ran through the district looking behind their backs for the loud mouths. Sure enough that loudmouth jackass was following them.

"I don't know them we had detention together before I met up with you guys and he's in my class." Kiku retorted back while avoiding the various boxes and crates in the alleyway.

"Even if you don't know them they blew our cover and now we may have company." Francis said as they weaved through the alley.

"Uh oh looks like we've got company." Gilbert pointed to the human blockade of soldiers in front of them.

"Halt! you are hear by under arrest for crimes against the Brotherhood and United States of Eurasia, America, and Oceania. Under Article 105, Section 1998 we are hereby prohibited from letting you pass." One of the senior officers recited the exact words from the law book. "And now without further ado we will now take you and your cohorts into custody. Do not rest unless you want a slow and painful execution." They lowered their guns and surrounded them but a cloud of smoke enveloped the small area leaving only Matthew, Arthur, and the guards standing there in bewilderment.

"Sorry to leave in a haste gentleman looks as though we'll have to reschedule this for another time but until then au revoir." Francis doubled over in pain before he could start running. The others looked on mortified at what they had just witnessed.

"Not so fast, rebels." The officer said as a group of soldiers appeared out of nowhere and immobilized the rest of them. "Our new shadow unit is engineered to apprehend and arrest subjects with the perfect combination of agility and stealth." He turned to one of the soldiers. "Load them and their accomplices up into the van and take to the station where you will await further orders."

"Yes sir." The van pulled up and the soldiers hauled the unconscious group of rebels, a shocked loudmouth and his gullible brother into the back.

When he had awoken Alfred had no idea where he was until he saw the same blond haired man he'd seen earlier sitting on the bench next to him.

"Ow my aching head." He cried as he tried to stand up. "Where the heck am I? Better yet who are you and where is Mattie at?"

"Careful my friend you went down as hard as we all did. If I were you I wouldn't try any sudden movements." The man helped to his feet while still trying to get himself balanced out.

"Thanks but where am I?" Alfred questioned with his blue eyes staring up at Francis.

Francis let out a sigh knowing that this boy had been dragged into his war whether he wanted to or not. "We are in Purgatory my friend. It's the place where the porcs send their prisoners. They decide your fate here. It's possible they will send a free spirited lad like yourself to either forcefully join the military or be forced to do hard labor."

"Wha-! Why are we here Mattie and I here we didn't do anything." Alfred was frightened he never thought that he would end up in a prison cell with a group of criminals

"Être calme!" Francis hissed as he pointed to the sleeping forms in the corner. "You will wake them up. They haven't fully recovered from whatever it was that knocked us out earlier and the porcs have our cell on complete 24 hour monitor so you cannot be too loud or we may deal what we dealt with earlier again."

"Sorry I guess I panicked a little." Alfred sat back in the chair.

"Ne vous inquiétez pas ce n'est pas votre faute." Francis spoke calmly.

"Huh I have no idea what you just said Mister uh-"

"Bonnefoy, Francis Bonnefoy"

"Yeah sure Mr. Bonertoy."

"It's Bonnefoy."

"That's what I said Bonertoy"

"Where the hell are you getting Bonertoy from?"

"Isn't that your name? Bonertoy"

"Ce que l'enfer? Que vous savez ce qui vient de l'oublier."

"What the heck are you saying?"

By now Francis was aggravated. "In case you haven't realized I'm French meaning I speak French which is why I just said all that because I'm French."

"Oh well that explains a lot."

"You know what just shut up" Francis turned over in the bed mumbled various French obscenities to himself.

"There's no need to be mean by the way I'm Alfred." Francis's eyes widened in shock as the boy spoke. It couldn't have been him. Maybe it was a mistake seeing as to Alfred was a common name here but then again he and his brother did look vaguely familiar. Francis reassured himself and began to drift off to sleep. Alfred, taking this as a sign to shut up, turned over and fell asleep with his dreams filled with thoughts of what may lie ahead.

A/N: Ok this is my first story and I'm really excited about it. The story came to me when I was listening to Muse and Lupe Fiasco last week. I originally planned to have it published earlier in the week but my school band is preparing for a competition and I had been sick for half of the week. Seeing as to how French isn't my first language I had to use Google Translate but anyways on to the translations:

Être calme! = Be quiet

Ne vous inquiétez pas ce n'est pas votre faute = Do not worry it's not your fault

Ce que l'enfer? Que vous savez ce qui vient de l'oublier = What the hell? You know what just forget it


	3. Escape Part 1

I don't own anything.

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><p>Chapter 2: Escape Part 1<p>

_**Location: Purgatory Detention and Execution Station**_

"Wake up maggots the boss wants to talk to you." A harsh voice yelled as they opened up the cell door.

"Quel est le sens de la présente?" Francis asked as he was pulled out of the bed "Qui êtes-vous?"

"None of your business pretty boy. Wake up your buddies and follow us to the interrogation room or else."

"Or else what I am not afraid of you." Francis snapped back as he woke up the others. Everybody got up with exception of Alfred who was still out like a light.

"Five more minutes mommy, I don't wanna go to school." He turned over in the cot/bed.

Gilbert turned to Matthew who was also still adjusting to the aftereffect of yesterday. "Is he usually like this at home, kid?"

"It's sad to say but he's been like this since we were little." Matthew said as he pulled out his spare pair of glasses since the first pair was broken. "I'm pretty much used to it."

"Oh my back what happened?" Kiku surveyed the cell "Gilbert? Francis? Where are we?" He noticed the guard outside the cell and Alfred's sleeping form. "Please tell me we aren't in Purgatory…again."

"Unfortunately my friend we are." He continued to try to wake Alfred up but to no avail.

"Leave him the boss only wants to talk to you and the other three." The guard turned to two passing guards "Oi you two get over here and guard this cell make sure that when the prisoner wakes up you send him to the interrogation room." He turned back to the others "As for you four follow me and don't anything funny unless you want to be six feet under." They followed as they began the trek through the large extensive prison.

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><p>When Alfred woke up for the second time he noticed his brother and cellmates were missing and that a new set of guards were outside of the cell. "Mattie! Mattie where are you?" He called out into the prison. If he lost his big brother he wouldn't know what to do with himself seeing as to the fact that Mattie was the only one in his family who paid attention to him. "Mattie where are you?" Alfred looked at the guards who were talking in front of the cell. "Hey you where is my brother?"<p>

"Hey keep it down some of us are trying to get the best amount of sleep we can!" One of the prisoners yelled from a neighboring cell.

One of the guards turned to the cell. "Shut it before we permanently put you to sleep." Alfred was shocked that the guards would threaten such a penalty for a minor outburst. He saw the other guard unlock the door "As for you we were given special orders for you."

"What are you gonna do to me?" He asked as his eyes widen while they dragged him out. "Please don't kill me I didn't mean to cause such a ruckus earlier I just wanted to know where my brother was." Alfred was practically crying as they continued to drag him down the hallway by the jeering inmates.

"Hey fresh meat!"

"Looks like we got us a new toy boys." A few wolf whistles and cat calls echoed through the hallway.

"Oh god why is this happening to me? Mattie please hurry and find me. "Alfred thought to himself as the first tears fell from his eyes. They stopped when they reached one of the smaller interrogation rooms.

"Stop sniffling and man up." The taller of the pair said as he sat him down in one of the chairs. Alfred wiped the tears that were falling from his eyes and calmed down a little. The guards removed their helmets revealing themselves to be…

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><p>AN: Ok you guys probably want to kill me but I couldn't resist the temptation of leaving it at a cliffhanger. I promise that the new chapter will be uploaded within the next two days and it will be much longer. Oh yeah and I know Alfred was a little Ooc but it was kind of crucial for to the plot line. I really wanted to show that Alfred wasn't just a big loud mouth who got the others into their current situation but also a sensitive character with a special attachment to his twin brother.

Translations: Quel est le sens de la présente =What is the meaning of this?

Qui êtes-vous = Who are you?

Stay tuned to see what the warden really wants with the four of them and find out who the two guards really are in Escape Part 2. Until next time see you guys later.


	4. Escape Part 2

A/N; This chapter is so overdue but I had a bad case of writer's block and my midterm exams to take but enough of my ramblings and onward to the next chapter 3. Please review and let me know what you guys think of the story so far.

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><p>Chapter 3: Escape Part 2<p>

_"Stop sniffling and man up." The taller of the pair said as he sat him down in one of the chairs. Alfred wiped the tears that were falling from his eyes and calmed down a little. The guards removed their helmets revealing themselves to be…_

The shorter guy turned out to be a guy with tan skin and curly brown hair with a smile plastered on his face "Well I'm gonna have wicked helmet hair for a week." He turned to the guy next to him "Ludwig aren't you glad we don't have to wear those stupid helmets anymore. Ludwig?"

"Helfen Antonio meinen Helm geklebt wird!" Ludwig yelled although his shouts were muffled by the helmet. This set off a 10 minute struggle between him and Antonio to get the helmet off. Once they'd pried the helmet off both let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks for the help Antonio." Ludwig patted down his light bond hair "Now on to more pressing matters" He turned to Alfred and handed him a grey suit similar to the ones that he and Antonio were wearing. "Take this go into the closet and put it on and when you're finished meet us outside." He handed him another helmet.

"No offense but why are you guys here and what do you want with me?" Alfred asked as he looked at the uniform.

"Well you see…" Ludwig began "My friend and I are a part of the resistance known as the Vox Populi. We are the voice the people. We are sworn to protect and liberate the people from the tyrannical Brotherhood. We ar-"

"I think what he means is why are we here right now." Antonio spoke as he sat down in the seat beside him.

Ludwig's face became slightly flustered "Fine then why don't you tell the then."

Antonio paid no attention to his remark "It all started last night when we got an unknown message…"

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><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_**Location: Unknown Station **  
><em>

_It was around 1in the morning… I think me and Romano were heading to our bedrooms to turn in for the night when an urgent message came through on the main computer. We ran over to check it out but before we could the alert alarm began to sound. The message read:_

_To: The Resistance_

_From: Unknown Source_

_Subject: We have something you want._

_Message: See attachment below_

_I clicked on the attachment to see what was going on after silencing the alarms and before I knew what was going the screen had blacked out._

"_Toni what's wrong with computer?" Romano asked me as he walked over to where I was sitting. "Did you break it again?"_

"_No…at least I don't think I did."_

"_Oh merda"_

"_Shh I think something's coming up on the screen."_

_Then the screen the screen lit up in a flash of bright light. A black haired man dressed in a standard red military uniform with black trimming sat in front of us on the screen "Hello rebels my name is General Codardo." He motioned the camera over to the corner where 5 unconscious forms lay. The camera moved back over to the General. "As you can see we have some friends of yours and 2 accomplices we caught with them. If you want to save them you have until 12 noon tomorrow to come to Purgatory before we execute them. Do not worry though we can reach an agreement that if you and your allies lay down your weapons and promise everlasting allegiance to the Brotherhood then we shall let them go free." He paused "But if you try anything or take one step out of line will have them executed faster than you can shoot the first bullet. That is all." The screen went blank. Romano and I sat there in shock not knowing whether to wake up the others or try to break them out ourselves. Due to the fact that option 2 would end up getting us killed or imprisoned we decided to wake up the others._

"_What is the meaning of this?"Roderich shouted as he fell out of the bed he and Elizabeta shared. "Why are you waking me up at this time of night?"_

"_Sir, Romano and I have urgent news! The Brotherhood has kidnapped Francis, Gilbert, and Kiku! They're holding them and two others as their hostages. They want us to swear our loyalty to them again. They said that if we didn't then they would kill them!"_

_Roderich was astonished that they would so far as to involve two innocents in their vendetta against us. "I knew they were cruel but I never knew they were such heartless bastards!" He pounded his fist on the wall "We have to do something now, wake the others tell them to head to the meeting room"_

"_Yes sir." Lovino and I replied in unison._

"_Oi what the bloody hell is going on in here?" Arthur asked as he came inside the room. _

_Roderich looked at him with a grim expression in his deep purple eyes "I'm sorry Arthur but they captured Francis-"_

_Arthur looked as though his whole world had been shattered "What do you mean they have Francis?"_

"_Exactly what I said, those pigs are holding him, Gilbert, and Kiku at Purgatory as hostages until we comply with their demands."_

"_Which are?" Arthur's brows were raised quizzically._

"_They want us to break up the resistance effort and reaffirm our loyalty to them and their damn brotherhood or they will kill them and the others."  
>"Who are the others you're talking about?" <em>

"_That's the thing we don't know, all that he disclosed were his demands and what would happen if we didn't meet them." I said as we began walking down the halls "Roderich want us to wake everyone up so we can call a meeting and discuss the rescue plan so we could avoid having to meet with the general to negotiate." We knocked on the doors of all of the base's inhabitants and they got the message about the situation._

"_I want to help with the rescue mission when Roderich chooses who will go. I don't care what happens I have to at least try to help save them." Once we were finished we headed to the meeting hall where everybody was listening to the briefing. The video was shown again just to show how grim our situation was_

_-End Flashback-_

* * *

><p>"In the end me, Ludwig, Elizabeta, Lovino, and Arthur were chosen for the mission to rescue you guys and get you back to base."<p>

"Whoa." Was all Alfred could manage to get out as he sat in complete awe at the explanation he'd just been given.

"Ja, Ja, Ja now that you know the full story we need you to change so we can hurry up and find the others.

"Hmm fine but on one condition." Alfred looked at the uniform "I wanna join the Vox Populi."

Antonio sighed "Sure. Whatever now hurry up." With that he and Antonio left to wait outside of the doors and keep watch for any real guards. Once he was changed Alfred walked out as he donned the helmet to complete his new outfit.

"Okay guys I'm ready."

"Can you really do that without Roderich's permission?" Ludwig whispered to Antonio on the way down the stairs.

"No but I'm pretty sure that if we make it out of here alive then he'll probably say yes." He reassured him.

* * *

><p>-Meanwhile-<p>

"Sir we have the prisoners you requested."

"Good send them in." The warden said as he sat in his chair thinking over the way he was going to kill the rebel scum.

The guard shoved them into the room "You heard the man get in there."

"Thank you Captain. You are dismissed." The warden turned in his chair revealing a pale, grim man in his 40s wearing a much more decorated version of the standard military uniform "So glad you join us today gentlemen. I was quite shocked when I found out that our prototype version of the shadow unit captured such high class criminal such as you. Then again there is a first for everything and this the first and last time you will be arrested."

Francis's eyes widened a little "Qu'entendez-vous?" The warden began to laugh a little.

"Don't pretend to play dumb Bonnefoy in a matter of two hours you and little buddies will be dead and there's nothing you or any of those rebel scum can do about it. With the exception of the loud mouth who will make an exceptional Sensor Officer once we break that spirit of his. Once we do that he will be a law abiding citizen without an ounce of free will just like all those other mindless idiots out there."

Matthew's temper began to flare "Dammit! How can you just talk about those people, your citizens the ones you were sworn to protect like they're just a bunch of puppets that you can use for your entertainment whenever you please?"

"Temper, temper Matthew you better not let it get the best of you." The warden said calmly as if nothing had happened "You wouldn't want to end up cutting your even shorter than it already is going to be." Matthew calmed down a little know that his outburst could have very well cost him his life "Now as I was saying, I know that you and your little renegade bunch of friends have something up your sleeve but if you make one step out of line during your very short stay…" His face became grim "It'll be the last you will ever take." He turned to the Sensor Officer next to him "Take them back their cell I can't stand to look at them anymore."

"You heard the man." The officer led them back to their cell. Once back there the officer threw them back in their before slamming the door shut and locking it.

"Are we really gonna die?" Matthew asked as he sat down on one of the bunks

"I don't know kid, but seeing as to the fact that this is probably our last chance to formally introduce ourselves I guess I'd better take the opportunity while I can." He held out his hand "My name is Gilbert Beilschmidt What is yours my friend?" Matthew shook his hand wearily "Uh mine's is Matthew Williams. If you don't mind my asking, why are those guys so angry with you?"

"Well to keep a long story short we are members of the Vox Populi and we've got a very long history with them." Gilbert said "They hate us and the feeling is mutual."

"Oh so that's why they keep calling us "rebel scum" but what do my brother and I have to do with any of this?" Matthew asked.

"You don't. While we were running from you guys we ran into them and somehow you got arrested along with us." Kiku spoke while leaning against the door "In a way it kind of is your fault we got caught but you two were also at the same time innocent bystanders who were in the wrong place at the wrong time." He looked out the small window into the hallway "And I believe that the warden knows that but he just wants to use you two as an example to anyone who is even thinking of joining the resistance or is thinking of trying to rebel in any way."

"How come I never knew any of this?"

"Well you see fear and subliminal messages are how they keep the population controlled. If nobody suspects anything then nobody will try to oppose their power. The only ones who really know what is going are us and the Brotherhood themselves." Francis explained "As long they can control the media, they can control the people. Plain and simple."

"Wow I never thought that any of this could really be happening but considering the circumstances it all does make sense. The pledge and TV messages always were a little weird but I can't believe they really used them for subliminal messa-" Before Matthew could finish there was a loud noise and a couple grunts outside. "What's going on out there?"

"Don't worry it's probably just another fight." Gilbert reassured him. The noises stopped after about five minutes. Suddenly the door was unlocked and three guards stepped inside.

"Are you here to taunt us some more or are you gonna end "or misérable existence." Francis snapped at them while he glared at them.

"Now is that really anyway to really any way to talk to your best friend, Francis?" One of the guards said.

Francis scoffed "Don't flatter yourself I would never think of being friends with any Brotherhood filth like you."

"Oh really not even if I were your childhood friend Antonio" The guard removed his helmet revealing cheerful face of Antonio. The other guards removed their helmets revealing Ludwig and Alfred. The others stood there in shock while they did so.

"Alfred you're okay!" Matthew ran to hug his baby brother with tears beginning to form in his eyes "I was so worried that something might have happened to you."

"I know please don't cry Mattie."

Matthew wiped his eyes "I'm sorry I couldn't help it, I was so scared."

Gilbert went over to his younger brother "Very nice Ludwig. I can't believe Roderich chose you for this mission though." He said "Maybe you are becoming a little more like you're awesome big bro."

Ludwig rolled his eyes "Nicht schmeicheln sich Gilbert."

"Antonio-san how did you know we were even here?" Kiku asked.

"I'll explain it to you when we get back to base but right, our main priority is to get you guys out of here and meet up with Arthur and Elizabeta before anybody realizes what's going on." Antonio put his helmet back on and headed towards the door "Vamos guys we only have about an hour to get out of here before they come to get you guys for the execution and the just reaching the exit in this place means either going out the front or going through the sewer on the first floor. You can guess which way we are going. Once we're in the sewer we'll meet up with Lovino. Now let's hurry up and get out of here."

The small group began to run out into the hallway passing. It was smooth sailing until they reached a group of passing Sensor Officers.

"Halt. Now is not a scheduled prisoner transport time. What do you three think you are doing?" The tall senior officer asked.

"Uh we have special orders from the warden, he said to transport them to a much more secure location." Ludwig said as sweat began forming on their faces.

The officers looked suspiciously at them "Hm that isn't like the warden to do something like that." He held his hand out "Let me see your papers, soldiers."

Alfred and Ludwig exchanged glances "That was an order." The officer demanded, still waiting for the non-existent papers.

"Um we weren't assigned any papers." Alfred said as he checked the uniforms pockets.

"Hmph! Nonsense, every soldier and guard in this place has official papers."

"Yeah, um, about that…" He punched the guy square in the face and knocked him out.

"Hey these guys aren't guards!" One of the other officers said as he threw a punch at Alfred who dodged it and kicked him.

"What the hell was that?" Antonio asked once they got finished fighting.

"I dunno I guess I panicked a little." Alfred said as they began running again

"I think heard it coming from that way!" A voice called in the distance

"Uh oh, ok you guys can be mad at me later but right now we may be in more trouble than we already are in if we don't hurry up and get out of here." The voices were getting closer.

"Up ahead I think I can see them!"

"C'mon let's go now!" Antonio called as he ran down the stairs with the others close behind him. They kept going until they ran into two similar looking guards.

"Oi watch where you're going!" The guard shouted as he grabbed his helmet. "Wait a minute Antonio, Ludwig is it really you?"

"Is it them Arthur?" The other guard asked.

"Yeah it's us." Antonio said while he helped them up.

Arthur ran for Francis and tackled him in a hug. Once he was used to it Francis hugged him back "Don't ever do that to me again!"

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Mon amour." Everyone had collective looks of disgust on their faces then the sound of footsteps on the floor echoed through the hall.

"Over there I see them!"

"Um as touching as this is I think we need to get going, like, now!" Alfred called as they resumed running. After narrowly dodging a couple of gun shots the group reached the sewer entrance.

"Everybody get in the sewer!" Antonio shouted as he kept lookout for the guards before heading down himself.

"Yuck it smells like crap down here." Kiku said in the darkness "Antonio hand me the flashlight." After feeling around for a few minutes he found the sidewalk. He turned the flashlight on "

Careful it's very slippery down here."

"I wonder where Romano is he should be here by now."

"Maybe he's further ahead, Toni-san."

"I hope so, I really hope so." Antonio replied.

Once the group stopped to check the map of the sewer networks Alfred began to think to himself "I wonder if those guys noticed we're gone?" He gave it more thought "Probably after all that chaos we caused."

"Hey kid, are you okay?" Gilbert asked snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah I'm fine, I just zoned out a little." He replied.

"Okay whatever you say, kid."

"You know my name isn't just kid."

"I know."

"Then why the hell do you keep calling me that?"

"Oi, you two, hurry up before you get left behind." Antonio called as the group continued on. It was smooth sailing until they reached the manhole cover that would lead them to the armory.

Gilbert lifted the cover up and headed up the ladder leading into the large room with the others following close behind.

"Welcome back Mr. Beilschmidt." A familiar voice said as the lights flipped on revealing a struggling Romano with the Warden holding a gun to his head "Guards surround them!" He called as the door opened with about twenty heavily armored soldiers appearing. The Warden's arrogant smirk reappeared as he looked on in satisfaction at the scene before him "Did you actually think it would be that easy to escape? Did you think we wouldn't notice that one of the cells was missing its occupants?" Antonio began to take a step forward but one of the guards punched him square in his stomach. Kiku and Arthur caught him before he landed on the floor. "How foolish of you, as if a direct attack would work." The Warden placed the gun closer to Romano's temple. "One more step out of line and the little one over here is gonna get it."

"Hey! Who are you calling little, asshole?" Romano yelled as he began to struggle again "I bet I could beat you and your punk ass toy soldiers on in one hit." His face began turning red with anger.

The Warden let out a laugh "Well looks like we've got a feisty one." His other hand that was around Romano's neck and grabbed his infamous curl. That sent him the over the edge and before anybody knew what happened the supposedly invincible warden was on the floor holding his wounded chest in pain.

"That'll teach you to call me little, bastardo! Now who's next in line for a good ol' fashioned kicking?" He gave the Warden one last kick before walking over to the group. The guards cleared a pathway before one by one running out of the room, afraid of being the next target of Romano's rage.

"Where are you going you spineless imbeciles? Get back in here now!" The Warden called as he coughed up a bit of blood before finally passing out

Antonio ran towards him engulfing Romano in a hug. "Oh, Dios mío de mi poco de tomate, acaba de iniciar culo de alguien! Creo que estoy en el amor"

"Get off of me you tomato bastardo!" He yelled as he tried to get out of the hug.

"That's not what you said the other night." Antonio said back slyly. Once he finally let go he got the most painful head butt ever.

"Finally now that this is over, can we get out of here?" Ludwig asked the others.

"I guess so baby bro." Gilbert told him. "Okay everyone let's get outta here because this is so not awesome. Everybody back in the sewer before we start pushing our luck."

Once they reached the end of the sewage passage a small wooden door barred the entrance to the outside and freedom.

"Since we are finally out of there, how the bloody hell are we gonna get back to base?" Arthur asked after they snuck past the watchtower guards.

After a few moments of silence Gilbert finally spoke up "As risky as it is we'll have to travel through town and hope that no one recognizes us from the wanted posters. When nightfall comes we'll have to stop and make camp." He turned to Alfred and Matthew. "You do realize that now there's no turning back since you two are now wanted fugitives. You can't go back to your old lives after this." They both nodded.

"I'm willing to take on any challenge, especially something as big as this." Alfred said. "I'm gonna become an awesome hero and they'll remember me forever!"

Romano rolled his eyes "Oh great another Gilbert just when I thought life couldn't get any worse."

Gilbert patted him on the shoulder. "Oh lighten up Romano I like the kid. He reminds me of me when I was a teenager with all of my greatness included."

"Whatever."


	5. Tightrope

_**Chapter 4: Tightrope **_

Anybody who was unfortunate enough to have ever been in General Winter's presence would say that he was the intimidating person on the face of the earth. From the ever-present scowl on his face to the menacing aura that he brought to the room, he would always leave his mark wherever he went. He was said to have a quick temper that almost certain ended in bloodshed when provoked. Currently, the warden of the once inescapable maximum security prison known as Purgatory was being dealt the harsh hand of that temper as members of the Tsar's court and the Tsar himself decided his fate.

"So you do admit that you beat by a bunch of rag-tag rebels and you let them get away without any pursuit." General Winter questioned the terrified man.

"Well yes but-"

"I have no further questions." With that he went back to standing next to the throne "Lord Ivan you should deal with him swiftly before the public finds out about this. An incident like this could cause more support for the rebels' ideals maybe even an assassination attempt." The tsar just nodded "The people will see you as weak and will lose fear of the government. One little slip up could bring the empire down." General Winter whispered into his ear before turning back to the Warden "Your majesty, the honorable Tsar Ivan Alexei Dmitri Braginski the Fourth will now read out the verdict."

"I'm going to go easy on you, comrade." Ivan smiled his childish smile as the Warden cringed knowing this would probably bring a fate worse than death "Life in the harshest part of Purgatory. Oh yeah and minimal food and water." The Warden's face was completely devastated. He was at a complete loss for words.

"Well you heard the Tsar, take him away!" General Winter shouted to the shocked Royal Guards.

"Please your highness, I have a family! They need me!" The former warden called out in vain as he was taken away.

"Okay have fun!" Ivan spoke cheerily, completely ignoring what the man had said. The room cleared within a matter of minutes until it was empty. When General Winter walked outside he was approached by a man dressed in black.

"So was the warden executed?" The man asked gruffly.

"No but I convinced that blubbering buffoon to sentence him to life in Purgatory. My plans will still continue as planned." Winter said coldly "And what of your mission? Do those rebels trust you?"

The man smirked "They're putty in my hands, no one suspects a thing."

"Good, the Vox Populi will never know what hit them. Ivan will fall and I will be the new tsar and you, my friend will get proper payment for your services." He then let out a hoarse laugh at the prospect of taking the throne "You may leave." With that the man disappeared and General Winter went on his way. Little did they know that their whole conversation was heard by an unexpected bystander.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Meanwhile Back With Our Dysfunctional Heroes<strong>_

"And then we take it and get out the hell out of there!" Gilbert finished with his trademark smile on his face "I knew it'd be so awesome you guys can't handle it." That was the exact opposite of what the others were thinking.

"So let me get this straight, you want to just waltz into A BLOODY MILITARY BASE AND STEAL A FUCKING HELICOPTER?!" Arthur asked in astonishment when Gilbert finished telling the group of his plan. They were a few miles away from Purgatory in the nearest town after their daring escape. They'd actually found a place to stay for the night and got new clothes. Surprisingly everything was going smoothly up nobody suspected a thing even the Thought Police and Censor Officers didn't notice them. That was until Gilbert decided to hold a meeting between the four of them to discuss "Mein awesome plan to get us out of here!"

"Have you actually lost your fucking mind, Gilbert? We could get caught again or worse." Romano protested furiously.

"I know it's a long shot but we can pull it off. I have complete and total faith what we can do. But if you guys don't won't to then I guess I'll just go all by myself… alone…" He then began pout and walk away.

Elizabeta sighed "Fine we'll go but if anything happens I'm going to beat you so hard with my skillet your great, great-grandchild will be born with a black eye." Everyone tensed up knowing that she was capable of making good on that promise if she got the chance so it would be best not to tick her off.

Gilbert scooped the three of them into suffocating hug "Yay, you guys are so awesome but you know not as awesome as me. I know my plan will work!"

* * *

><p>AN:(-_-;) I totally failed at Ivan's personality, I'm going to crawl in my corner and sulk for like six years. This chapter was mostly supposed to be a filler with General Winter and Ivan finally being introduced. So that's pretty much it for now. Keep a look out for Chapter 5 which will be out probably next week or the week after. I'm thinking about making a side oneshot story set in the same universe. Leave me a review to let me know what you think and no flames because they are such a pain in the ass.


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